


Virulent

by AkinoAme



Category: Kamen Rider OOO
Genre: Arguing, Boundaries, Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-20
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-08-16 08:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8095696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkinoAme/pseuds/AkinoAme
Summary: A stomach virus strikes everyone at Cous Coussier, leaving Eiji and Ankh sick at home and having to take care of each other. Or that's the theory, anyway.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Pandemics and Epidemics"

                Eiji finished placing a closed sign on the restaurant door and walked back inside. Then, after a second thought, he took an ice pop out of the freezer—after all, he'd bought them, and Ankh wasn't necessarily entitled to _all_ of them.

                Ankh came downstairs a minute later and glared at him before going to the freezer himself. Sighing, Eiji insisted, "There's still a full box."

                Ankh began to rummage through the box while Eiji unwrapped his and started eating it.

                "I haven't heard anything from Chiyoko yet," he admitted. "I hope she's okay."

                They'd closed because Chiyoko had been sick the night before and had to go home early. Eiji took care of last orders and cleanup, and Chiyoko told him to take the day off.

                "Hina says there's a bad stomach virus going around," he added. "A lot of people at her school have it."

                Ankh continued to say nothing in response. Instead, he walked over and pulled the ice pop out of Eiji's mouth.

                "What was that for?" Eiji asked.

                "That's the last of this flavor," he explained, sticking the ice into his own mouth.

                Eiji sighed in frustration, but before he could start arguing, the phone rang. Knowing Ankh wouldn't bother, he got up to answer it.

                "Hello, Cous Coussier. I'm sorry to say we're closed today..."

                "Eiji, it's me."

                The voice on the other end was hoarse, but definitely Chiyoko.

                "Chiyoko?" he asked. "You sound horrible."

                "I know. I'm going to be out sick for a while. It's that stomach virus Hina was talking about."

                "What?" he asked, a sinking feeling settling into his own stomach.

                "It's really contagious, so I'm calling both you and Hina to warn you. I might have gotten you sick, Eiji, I'm so sorry!"

                "No, it's okay," he insisted. "You focus on getting better, okay?"

                "I will, thank you," she replied. "Finish up whatever food is in the fridge. We'll buy more as soon as I'm better, okay?"

                "Okay. Take care, bye."

                As soon as he hung up, Eiji looked over at Ankh, who was finishing _his_ ice pop. If Chiyoko had gotten Eiji sick, he wasn't the only one.

 

~~~

 

                By the end of the day, Eiji was starting to feel sick, and it was late into the night when Ankh started feeling it too.

                And he had no idea how Eiji could stand it. Eiji, who'd kept quiet during the night with his bathroom runs while Ankh groaned in agony with his head over the toilet. His stomach felt like something he remembered from his borrowed body's memories—a horror movie where a creature had burst out of someone's chest; this was what Ankh's stomach felt like.

                "How do humans put up with this?" he moaned, leaning against the stack of furniture his nest was perched on.

                He had no desire to climb up there in this condition, especially if he'd only have to run to the bathroom soon enough anyway. That left one option.

                "Move over," he ordered, shoving Eiji toward the wall.

                Eiji had only just started to fall asleep again after hearing to Ankh's last bathroom trip, so he jumped as soon as Ankh shoved him.

                "What are you doing?" he asked, trying to get his heart to slow down again.

                "I'm not climbing back and forth," Ankh said.

                "What, for the bathroom?" Eiji asked.

                "Your bed's lower, so it comes in handy."

                Ankh was settling in, and with only a twin-sized bed, it meant Eiji was getting pushed up against the wall.

                "Wait, how am I supposed to get out to use the bathroom?"

                "Sleep on the floor if you want," Ankh replied, closing his eyes.

                "Why don't you?" Eiji challenged, but it was no use. Ankh was asleep, and apparently far more comfortably than he would be.

                Hina said they'd be sick for one to three days. It was going to be an extremely long time, then.

 

~~~

 

                Eiji hadn't quite made it to the bathroom in time, and that meant he had to do his laundry in the sink as soon as possible.

                "This is crazy," he moaned, scrubbing his underwear. He'd finally gotten the worst of it out when he heard the phone ring downstairs. "Ankh, can you get that? Just tell them we're closed."

                He got a moan in response and sighed, turning off the water and leaving his underwear so he could hurry downstairs in time to answer. He made it on what he figured was the last ring, starting with, "I'm sorry. We're clos..."

                "Eiji, it's me."

                He breathed a sigh of relief. "Hina! How are you feeling?"

                "Not so great," she admitted. "But I'm getting through it. How about you guys?"

                "I'm doing okay," he insisted. "I think Ankh, though..."

                "What's wrong?" she asked.

                He realized suddenly how bad it sounded, especially when her brother's body was on the line, and he insisted, "No, no—nothing's really _wrong_ with him, other than the virus. Just...it's got to be the first time he's ever been sick, so I don't think he really knows what to do about it."

                "Mm-hmm, that makes sense," she agreed. "Just keep an eye on him, okay?"

                "Don't worry," he promised. "I'll make sure he takes care of your brother's body."

                But at the same time they were chatting, Ankh made his way into the bathroom, trying to prevent another problem before it started.

                That was when he saw the underwear in the sink.

                He took a deep breath and shouted, "Eiji!"

                He stormed downstairs to find Eiji on the phone, looking far less miserable than he had any right to be and completely oblivious to the yelling from upstairs. So, again:

                "Eiji!"

                On reflex, Eiji turned Ankh's way. This allowed Ankh to perfectly throw the sopping wet boxers into his face. Maybe now, he'd learn not to leave them all over the place.

 

~~~

 

                The last thing Ankh wanted to try right now was eating, but his stomach somehow felt even worse empty than full, and popsicles weren't going to cut it. Reluctantly, he headed downstairs, seeing that Eiji had gotten the same idea and had a bowl of rice porridge in front of him.

                "There's more in the pot," Eiji said. "I made sure there was enough for both of us."

                It didn't smell like just rice, though. "What's in it?"

                "Meat and some vegetables."

                Ankh grimaced. Nothing sweet, and all what the humans called "healthy." Still, it could be worse. "What kind of meat?"

                "I don't know, whatever Chiyoko had."

                That answer was too easy. Nothing was ever easy with Eiji. If he wasn't giving a straight answer, then something was up.

                "You're not enough of an idiot to forget everything you've been serving this week," Ankh challenged. "What kind of meat?"

                Eiji didn't answer, so he picked up the bowl and glared at the contents—shredded, light-colored meat that was clearly poultry of some kind. He turned that glare back on Eiji and got a sigh in response.

                "What do you expect, Ankh? It's not like I can go out shopping like this."

                Ankh practically threw down the bowl, and Eiji had to scramble to grab it.

                "Seriously?" he cried. "You do realize that I'm sick too, right? This isn't exactly fun for me either!"

                Ankh didn't bother answering. Instead, he went to the freezer and grabbed another popsicle.

                "You can't just keep eating those and expect it to help!" Eiji argued. "You need real food too!"

                But Ankh only stalked off upstairs, leaving Eiji to sigh in frustration and look at the contents of his bowl. He rubbed at his face for a moment before taking stock of his spare change and going out to pick up a few meals that Ankh would eat.

 

~~~

 

                Eiji couldn't quite say he was getting better as the day went on, but he at least didn't feel terrible anymore. It meant he felt more confident about getting some of the necessary cleaning done so Chiyoko wouldn't have to worry too much about disinfecting everything when they were all well enough to reopen.

                In retrospect, he shouldn't have tried to do so much when he wasn't feeling good. But it didn't occur to him then, and so as soon as he stood up after putting the cleaning supplies away, he felt the blood rush down from his head. He started to reach out to catch himself, but he fell too quickly and hit the floor.

                He made an impressive crash, and the sound was enough to bring Ankh downstairs to check on him.

                "Eiji, what the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

                As throughout the rest of the day, no concern over Eiji's wellbeing. He should have been used to it, from all of the times Ankh had criticized him for losing Medals or overusing combos, ignoring the bandages and compresses all over him.

                Eiji was tired of it, and he snapped back, "I'm fine."

                "That's not what I asked," Ankh said.

                "I noticed." He slowly got back up, letting the lightheadedness fade before he stood completely.

                "What do you think you were doing?" Ankh repeated, looking at the closed cabinet and clearly recognizing what it held. "That's something that can wait."

                "Really, Ankh? It can wait?" Eiji argued. "How about waiting until after I go out to pick up some food for you because you won't eat the leftovers? Or after I have to shower because you threw the underwear I was washing at me? Or maybe I'll wait till you go to bed, except you've taken up my bed and keep me from getting out!"

                The next thing he saw was Ankh's hand flying off of the Detective's body. Ankh grabbed Eiji by the neck and pinned him against the next wall, applying just enough pressure to make breathing difficult, without cutting off his air completely.

                "Do you realize how much I had to put up with, just as a favor to you and Hina?" he demanded, and there was nothing in his voice to suggest he was sick, or that the virus had taken a toll on him at all. "All that pain, that loss of energy, everything—do you know how much I just wanted to leave that body to deal with it instead?"

                Eiji's eyes drifted over to the unconscious Shingo, wide with fear. Bad enough that his condition was so fragile, but with this illness on top of it?

                Ankh finally let go and slowly—reluctantly—returned to the Detective's body. His face twisted in pain for a minute from the transition of feeling normal to feeling sick, all as Eiji watched and caught his breath.

                "Okay," he admitted as Ankh got up. "I understand. And...I'm sorry." Ankh gave him half a nod as acknowledgment. "But at the same time, this doesn't mean you can treat me the way you've been treating me."

                "Huh?" Ankh asked.

                And it was then that Eiji realized that, really, all of what Ankh was doing wasn't much different from normal. Except that where Eiji normally had the energy to put up with it or at least argue with him, being sick made his patience a lot shorter.

                "Just..." he started. "I'm sick too."

                "You said that," Ankh pointed out.

                "I know," Eiji said. "But the same thing you're going through? I'm going through it too. And I can't just...detach." He could see Ankh bristling, his defenses going back up. "Maybe I could have done more to try to help you out. But at the same time, I only have so much energy..."

                "Is that you asking for help?" Ankh challenged.

                Eiji hesitated, unsure what to say. It wasn't necessarily that he _needed_ help, and now that Ankh had told him everything, he felt guilty about losing his temper and not helping more.

                To his surprise, Ankh sighed, "Of course you wouldn't answer that question." Eiji gave him a puzzled look, but he said, "Go to bed before you collapse again."

                He nodded, still somewhat confused, but he went upstairs, Ankh following closely behind him. Ankh didn't let up watching him until he lay down, feeling the room slowly spin around him. Maybe Ankh was right—he did need to rest.

                He glanced over and saw Ankh struggling to climb up to his nest, and he knew that if he was starting to feel dizzy, Ankh might be too.

                "Hey, Ankh?" he called out, scooting closer to the wall. "There's still room over here, if you need it. It'll be easier than climbing."

                "What happened to needing to get up?" Ankh argued.

                It was mostly just to try and get him mad, deflect any attention off him looking weaker. And maybe, Eiji thought he heard a hint of fear.

                He didn't have the energy to get angry, mumbling, "I don't think I'll be getting up for a while."

                "Hmph," Ankh huffed, even as he climbed into bed next to him. "Idiot."


End file.
